1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an overcap, and more particularly, to an overcap for use with a cleaning device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The cleaning of houses, office buildings, apartments, and many other structures often proves challenging due to such things as high ceilings, furniture placed within rooms, and many other structural features. The physical dimensions of various furniture often limit one""s ability to clean thereunder, ceiling corners are often just out of reach, and bending or crouching to floors may strain one""s back. However, as difficult as people may find such cleaning, most are likely to prefer ridding their living and working areas of the dust, spider webs, debris, and the like plaguing that environment.
Besides the complications imposed by an area""s physical characteristics, people engaging in cleaning operations may be burdened by various chemicals found in even common household cleaning liquids. Many cleaners, whether purchased in a local grocery store or intended for industrial use, may cause skin or eye irritation, and may even be toxic. Moreover, since some cleaning spray canisters require direct operation by a user""s finger, the risk of the user""s skin or eyes coming in contact with the potentially dangerous chemicals is increased. As such, cleaning operations should be performed in ways that minimize one""s contact with those cleaning fluids.
Further, especially to ensure the safety of infants and young children, cleaning fluids must be contained in such a way so as to prevent accidental discharge. If a child picks up a spray canister, for example, any cap on that canister must minimize the probability of that child coming in contact with the chemicals therein, yet allow an intended user to still apply those chemicals with relative ease during cleaning operations. Thus, a need exists for a safe, easy-to-use cleaning device that allows for the cleaning of hard-to-reach areas, including the directed application of various cleaning fluids to aid in that cleaning, but which minimizes the chance of injury to unintended users of the device.
Several attempts have been made to make cleaning operations easier. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,217 to Munchel discloses an elevated spraying device and U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,319 to Munchel, et al., discloses a cleaning attachment for that elevated spray device. Each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,886,191 and 4,789,084 to Yoshitomi discloses a tool for assisting spray work at a high position. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,155 to Schennum, et al., discloses a mop using a manually actuated, decoupled liquid delivery system for delivering a predetermined volume of liquid to a working surface.
However, none of the devices discussed above provides for an all-in-one, safe, easy-to-use, cleaning apparatus that allows for the cleaning of hard-to-reach areas, and provides for directed and focused application of various cleaning fluids to aid in that cleaning. Moreover, none of those devices minimizes a risk of injury to unintended users of them, by, for example, including features intended to prevent unknowing or accidental discharge of cleaning fluids.
This invention addresses the foregoing needs in the art by providing an overcap with a cantilevered lever arm and a nozzle.
In a first embodiment of this invention, an overcap for use with a spray canister includes a peripheral wall adapted to attach to the spray canister, a cantilevered lever arm hingedly attached to the peripheral wall, and a nozzle disposed within the cantilevered lever arm. The nozzle includes a stem socket adapted to receive a valve stem of the spray canister and adapted to provide a fan-shaped spray.
In another aspect of the first embodiment, the overcap further includes an alignment recess adapted to receive a protrusion of a housing.
In yet another aspect of the first embodiment, the nozzle includes a rectangular orifice having a length in a direction along a length of the lever arm, whereby a fan-shaped spray which is wider in a direction transverse to the length of the lever arm is produced.
In a second embodiment of this invention, an overcap for use with a spray canister includes a generally cylindrical peripheral wall, a cantilevered lever arm hingedly attached to the wall, means for producing a fan-shaped spray, and means for securing the overcap to the spray canister.
In a third embodiment of this invention, an overcap includes a substantially planar top, a peripheral wall depending from the top adapted to attach to a spray canister, a cantilevered lever arm hingedly attached to the peripheral wall traversing a span of the top of the overcap and terminating at a free end in a recess of the top of the overcap, and a nozzle disposed within the cantilevered lever arm. The free end of the cantilevered lever arm can move with respect to a plane of the top. Moreover, the nozzle includes a stem socket adapted to receive a valve stem of the spray canister and is adapted to provide a fan-shaped spray.